LYNN – Spartan Tyler Grillo’s fourth three-pointer of the first half ripped through the netting as time expired to cap off a 21-6 St. Mary’s run and sent the home team into the locker room with a comfortable 46-27 halftime lead over Archbishop Williams.But just as the Spartans clawed back from 24 down versus Bishop Fenwick earlier in the season, Williams turned the trick against St. Mary’s and pulled off a miracle of its own. The Bishops fought back from a 22-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Spartans, 78-72.”I’m really proud. To come back against a good basketball team like this, especially on the road?I’m really proud,” said Williams coach Ged Phelan. “In the second half, all I wanted was effort. I didn’t care if we won, I just wanted them to play hard. To come all the way back and win is big for us.”The evening began wonderfully for St. Mary’s (8-7). Grillo scored 20 first-half points, and John Bakopolus added 10. The Spartans shot six-for-10 from three-point land and outrebounded the Bishops 18-10. St. Mary’s outplayed the competition in virtually every aspect of the contest and the halftime score was indicative of the dominance. What appeared as an easy victory early on turned out to be a heartbreaking letdown.”I’m extremely disappointed,” said Spartan coach Kevin Moran. “Defensively it was just bad rotation, and we didn’t defend the perimeter well at all. I know the intensity was there, but the execution was not.”Seniors Virgel Williamson and captain Ricky Titus spearheaded the unlikely comeback for Williams. The duo combined for 43 points, 33 in the second half.Williamson scored 22 points, 18 in the second half, hit 10 of 11 free throws, swiped six steals and dished out six assists. He also grabbed four boards and added a block.Titus scored 15 in the second half, six in the first, and hit consecutive threes to begin his team’s turnaround mid-third quarter. The forward also had five steals, two rebounds and a block.The Bishops (9-5) cut their deficit to 12 in the third, but St. Mary’s pushed it up to 19 before a Williams run brought the Bishops back within 13 at the end of the quarter.With 6:05 remaining, a Williamson trey pulled the visitors within 10. With 1:30 left, Titus banked home a layup to make the score 72-68. On the next two Williams possessions, senior captain Anthony DiBona (nine points) hit threes to provide the Bishops with a 74-72 lead, their first advantage since the opening moments and one they would not lose.The Spartans could not find the bottom of the net and only managed one point, a Grillo free throw, in the final 2:35.”They stole one from us early in the season when they came back from 10 points down in the second half,” Phelan said. “This was huge.”After 20 points in the first half, Grillo only scored one more due to a defensive switch made by Phelan at intermission from Williamson to Titus.”Williamson is a very good defender, but Grillo couldn’t miss,” Phelan said. “Titus is just as quick as Williamson, but he’s a little bit bigger and stronger. He really stepped up.”Besides the aforementioned play of Williamson and Titus, other huge factors in the Bishops’ comeback were the overall shooting and smart decision-making on both ends of the court. Williams committed only three turnovers in the second half, forced 11 and shot almost 50 percent (7-16) from behind the three-point line.The Bishops’ Madison Buchanon hit four successive threes in the first quarter to keep his team in the contest while St. Mary’s went on its early run. He went scoreless throughout the rest of the contest before hitting two free throws late in the game to finish with 14 points.